The Appellate Group

ACLU of Utah v. State

ACLU of Utah v. State, 2020 UT 31 (per curiam)

Standing

The ACLU, the Disability Law Center, and the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys sought relief on behalf of all individuals in criminal custody throughout the State who are at risk of contracting COVID-19. No individual inmate was named as a petitioner. The ACLU, Disability Law Center, and the Association did not assert traditional or associational standing but argued that they had public interest standing. The Utah Supreme Court dismissed the petition for extraordinary relief as moot, holding:

  • The ACLU, Disability Law Center, and Utah Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys do not have public interest standing. They have not met the burden of showing how the issues they seek to litigate are unlikely to be raised if they are denied standing. 

Read the full court opinion